Lovers' Quarrel
by Orwell is watching-xoxo
Summary: Nicknames 'verse: Monroe did what he had to do to keep Mandy from leaving; even if that meant he had to lie to her about the republic's sketchy agenda, he would do it. Set during 1x05.


**So, here I am with another installment in the Nicknames' verse. Just so I haven't confused anyone with the order, it's supposed to be Pocketful of Sunshine (courtesy of IronAmerica) which occurred two years pre-pilot, Nicknames which occurred somewhere around a year and some change pre-pilot, and Wasted, which occurred with the episode 1x02. The newest installment will occur with 1x05. **

**I own nothing, just this shared plot between IA and I. **

_**Lovers' Quarrel **_

Mandy Cooper had known General Monroe for a solid two years, and that really wasn't saying much. Normally, the longer you know someone, the more you know about them, right? Well, this wasn't the case for this couple. He had listened to her about the sobering up, which was one good thing. However, he did still drink on the bad days. Of course, that would be before Mandy caught him in action. The things she did for him to keep him from drinking; the sex alone was exhausting, and the fact that contraceptives were about as hard to find as medicine, was just a tad frightening.

That was beside the point, however, it had been two years and she _still _didn't know very much about her boyfriend's background with the Monroe Republic. She knew that he was the figurehead, and she knew that, now that he had Danny under the care of the Militia, he had the say so in how things were done around here. But what she didn't know was just how crazy his plans were starting to become. If she knew half of the things that they were doing to poor Danny…

Mandy was in love with a man who she barely knew. She knew his personality inside and out. If he was having a bad day, she could sense it in a heartbeat. But, that was just her Sebby. When General Monroe came out, it was like he was a whole different person. She let it slide, though, because, whenever she wanted to know something, Bass would make her forget all about it by kissing her senseless and yeah, most likely even sex would come into play. It was annoying that she loved him so much that she didn't need to know why he wouldn't answer her questions.

They had a strange relationship, the two of them. But neither of them could live without each other. Bass didn't hide his affection for Mandy around his men anymore, but she hardly knew what was going on when they had their meetings of some sort.

She had finally had enough, one day. It was their two-year mark as a couple and what did Bass do? Blow her off for some meeting. It. Was. Annoying.

o—o—o

Mandy was pacing back and forth, waiting for her boyfriend's arrival. He had been gone for _hours_; she had lost count because her overemotional state just led her to never ending loops in her mind. It had made time pass quicker, but still.

The petite woman looked down at her fingernails, which were now nothing but little stubs at this point. When she saw Sebastian Monroe again, he was getting a piece of her mind. He couldn't charm his way out of it this time. And, even if he tried, she would probably slap him. This was a serious matter!

Not even five minutes later, though, her boyfriend came into their room, looking distracted as ever. He hadn't resorted to drinking in quite a while, which Mandy was glad to see. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her closer. Like all of the other times, this made her want to forget ever being mad at him and just let him do whatever the hell he wanted to with her. It was a good stress relief, on both parts. But she knew that, if she didn't put her foot down now, it will only get harder for the next time.

"Sorry it took me so long, lovely, you know how long those idiots can keep me there," Bass whispered down at her, pecking at the side of her lips.

"I guess I do," Mandy shrugged, turning around in his arms. "Sebby, I'd like to talk to you about something. Please don't try to change the subject, okay?"

"Now why would I do that?" the general began, chuckling softly. He gently caressed her cheek; Mandy had to shake herself to keep from getting lost in those _eyes_ of his.

"Because you know when I'm ticked off at you, and you try to get off the hook by being sweet. Or-" The brunette shook her head again, trying to regain some composure. "Or by getting in my pants," she narrowed her eyes a little, "either way, it won't work."

Monroe sighed and took his girlfriend by the hand. "Okay, okay. Let's go sit down, then," he led her over to the desk, his deep blue eyes taking her in carefully. What could he have possibly done now? He said that he was sorry…

Mandy leaned against his desk, arms crossed over her chest. She began as her boyfriend plopped down in his chair. "I really don't know how to start this, Sebby. I want to know what's going on; I feel like I barely even know you sometimes."

Bass tensed up just a tad; hoping that she didn't notice, he went on. "But you do know me. I believe that you know me _very_ well."

The brunette whacked his chest. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about your role as the general. You—you don't even talk to me about it. And you're tense half of the time, but you just bottle it up," she unfolded her arms and took one of his hands in her much smaller one. "And I'm afraid that it makes you make bad choices."

Sebastian didn't even know what to say to his girlfriend. Part of him still wanted to get her off of the subject, but part of him wanted to tell him _something_ so that she'd stop worrying so much about it. (Not to mention so that she'd stop worrying _him_ about it…)

After a long pause, and his girlfriend staring at him intensively, he finally decided that maybe, just maybe, lying through his teeth would be the way to go. He'd tell her the gist of what was going on, but leave out the minor details.

"Okay, dearest, then you start off by telling me what you want to know," Bass told her, squeezing her hand ever so gently.

"What was your meeting about?" Mandy asked, ignoring the annoyance on her boyfriend's face.

"Nothing that important," the general began, tugging Mandy into his lap. Maybe he could get away with distracting her after all. Because, if he told her that he planned on shooting at other countries from the sky… something told Bass that it wouldn't settle in too well with her.

"Sebastian," she chided harshly, "either you tell me what's going on, or I swear to _God_ that you won't get any for the next century."

Bass sighed and leaned his forehead against Mandy's. Why did she have to be so stubborn? "Now that Rachel's willing to let me have a say so in the scheme of things, I'm trying to do a better job than she and Miles did."

"I thought that the only reason why you got your men to kidnap Danny in the first place is so that you could get Rachel to tell you more about the blackout," the brunette looked up at her boyfriend, "please tell me that you aren't doing anything reckless with this power of yours."

"They would have done a lot worse," Sebastian murmured, kissing her hair.

"I'm just worried about you. If you abuse this power who knows what's going to happen to the rest of the doomed world," Mandy sighed a bit, "just promise me that you're not going to turn into a crazy dictator."

The general tensed up again, knowing that he was already looking that way. "Don't worry. I promise that I'll be careful."

"And Danny? Are you going to let him go after you find out what you need to know from his mother?" the petite brunette asked.

"Yes," Bass began, trying to shove down his annoyance.

"_Without_ hurting him in the process," Mandy raised an eyebrow, quizzing her boyfriend slightly.

"I can't tell you what my men are doing with him. And, technically, the more beat up he is, the more liable Rachel is to cave in," Sebastian answered; whether she liked it or not, that was the truth. "And, if that's the case, I won't stop them."

Before she knew it, his girlfriend was on her own two feet again. Bass didn't want to turn away from her, but he most certainly didn't want her asking more about this. The more she knew, the more likely she was to leave him. And he just couldn't have that, no matter how much of an ass he had to be to her.

Mandy felt unwelcome tears prickle in the corners of her eyes as she watched Monroe walk away from her. "Where are you going? Bass! Please don't leave me."

Sebastian didn't dare turn back around. The only time she ever used his name like that, she was _really_ upset. "I've got some things I need to attend to. I'll see you later." He would regret this later he knew he would. But right now, Bass just needed to clear his head. Besides, Captain Neville was due to bring Danny. Maybe now he could finally get what he wanted out of Rachel.

**There. And that's where Bass' last scene on "Soul Train" would pick up. I cannot tell you how much I wanted to leave this story with a happy note, but… well, at least you all know that that means there will be more to this universe! **


End file.
